This invention relates generally to commercial griddles and particularly to a commercial griddle that is heated by means of one or more infrared burners.
Commercial griddles for restaurants and for so-called "fast food" establishments generally comprise relatively thick metal plates that are heated to cooking temperatures from a heat source located below the surface of the griddle. The surface of the griddle may be treated and highly polished to provide a very smooth surface to which foods do not readily adhere. It may also comprise a large mass of material which acts as a heat sink to maintain a relatively constant surface temperature for controlled cooking. One well-known griddle is manufactured and sold by Keating of Chicago, Inc. under the registered trademark Miraclean.
Griddles are generally heated by means of natural gas. Recently, infrared gas burners have been used in connection with commercial space heating equipment. Such burners have either a perforate ceramic element or a spaced stainless steel mesh for providing an essentially flameless heat. Infrared gas burners are convenient, efficient and generally safer than conventional open flame burners, since they operate primarily on the principle of radiant energy rather than heating by conduction or convection. While the prior art has utilized infrared burners as space heaters and as industrial heaters, these burners have not found extensive use in commercial cooking equipment. In particular, such burners have not been used as the heating elements for griddles.